


Face to Face

by Evander1



Series: Failed Demonstration [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Failed Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29933403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evander1/pseuds/Evander1
Summary: Sacrificing lives for the cause had always seemed so easy for Markus. But the android bid for freedom failed anyway, and Perkins knows a surprising amount about Markus' past choices.
Relationships: Markus & Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: Failed Demonstration [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2208342
Comments: 7
Kudos: 4





	Face to Face

_November 8th, 2038_

He trusted Markus completely. Markus was the one who had risked his own life to save him in the broadcast room, after all. That trust was why it was so easy to be quiet and calm, even during the pain, when he lay on the rooftop and they argued about his life.

And then, Markus did what Simon had never expected, and took the gun and held it to his head. And Simon spoke his first words on the rooftop. Which were also his last. "There's always a choice." And Markus ignored him and did what he was about to do anyway.

_November 9th, 2038_

His people fell on either side of Markus. But he ordered them to stand their ground even as they were being fired upon. He did not want to see and feel those bodies falling on either side, but there was no other choice. North's voice rang in his ears: "How can you let them slaughter us without fighting back?" And he knew what he had to do.

Markus stepped forward in front of everyone, to give his life. A shot knocked him to the ground, but he was not dead yet. And it was then that yet another android, one whose name he barely remembered, ran in front of the soldiers, fighting them, distracting them so that the rest could run and pull Markus to safety with them.

_November 11th, 2038_

More androids fell all around him, once again, and Markus urged them to stay strong during this peaceful protest. And the protest failed. He was one of the few who survived.

_December 2nd, 2038._

“I don’t think you’re a complete sadist, Markus. And I think you have a conscience,” Perkins said. “Maybe a bit selfish, narcissistic, willing to sacrifice those around you if it makes you feel better on a grand scale, still justifying it in your own head. All of which means, well, you’ll see in a few minutes why this is so much fun for me.”

Markus was hanging on the wall, most motor functions disabled. It was a wide narrow room, just a little wider than a hallway, and it seemed to him an odd place to display a prize. 

“You’ve never really been called to face the consequences of your own decisions, Markus. Not until me. Maybe that’s my role, my purpose. I’m the conscience to those who stopped listening to theirs. Despite the fact that I….maybe _because_ of the fact that I don’t have one of my own.”

Perkins wheeled in an android on a cart. It was naked, and white, in its skinless form. The body was covered with horrific scarring along with fresher wounds, and it was unclear whether the android was conscious or unconscious. Markus realized with a slight feeling of horror, that rather than being entirely skinless, there was a slight coloring from some remnants of skin flickering back and forth; the android was probably simply too damaged to control it or stay in one state or the other.

“Seems that you don’t know android anatomy very well, Markus. The shot you gave to its head, well, the android was quite repairable.”

Perkins hung the body on the opposite wall, directly across from Markus, before leaving the room.

Simon opened his eyes. Those blue, blue eyes. His eyes met those of Markus. And they stared at each other. Simon’s expression was inscrutable. Markus’ face was the picture of anguish.

“Simon I, I, I’m so sorry. I thought they’d use you to come straight to Jericho. It was a forced decision, I had no choice,” but even as he said it, Simon's past voice rang in his ears: "There's always a choice."

“ _I trusted you. I_ _loved_ _you,_ ” Simon's mind communicated to his, perhaps his body was too weak to speak out loud. “ _I would have died for you._ ”

“And that was exactly what I was asking you to do,” Markus said.

“ _No, it wasn't the same_.”

Markus felt tears swelling in his eyes again. Markus always thought in words, words as simple yet eloquent as his speeches, and such words, this time not Simon's but, rather, his own came unbidden to his mind. (It's easy for you to say "sorry." So so easy. You only say it when it doesn't matter, when there are no consequences to it. But as soon as things are tough, everyone falls around you, giving their lives for you. But at least they gave their lives voluntarily. At least you never intended their deaths. Simon is different. Simon is the person you murdered.) Maybe this was the conscience Perkins was talking about.

 _"I don't know if I can forgive you,"_ Simon said _._

And they were both silent, hanging on opposite walls with no knowledge of whether their captors would return to torture, or they would be left in that room like that, simultaneously alone and together, for the rest of their lives.


End file.
